Machine for painting vehicle-wheels or the like.



No. 731,099. PATENTED JUNE 16, 1903. J. GRAFT, D. REEL 8: W. LE 13. HAWES. MACHINE FOR PAINTING VEHICLE WHEELS OR THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 26, 1901.

N0 MODEL.

HIH

T IL :fgwerviorw 1 Wi n 6.96 es %A% THE NORRIS PETERS cu. PHOTO-THO WASNINGTON. u. c.

UNITED STATES Patented June 16, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN CRAFT, DANIEL REEL, AND WILLIAM LE B. HAWES, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

MACHINE FOR PAINTING VEHICLE-WHEELS OR THE LIKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 731,099, dated June 16, 1903.

Application filed December 26, 1901. Serial No. 87,337. No model.)

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOHN CRAFT, DANIEL REEL, and WILLIAM LE 13. HAWES, citizens of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, county of Hamilton, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Machines for Painting Vehicle-Wheels or the Like, of

which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification. 7

Our invention consists of a certain novel and useful apparatus, to be hereinafter more particularly pointed out and claimed, whereby vehicle-wheels may be automatically and rapidly coated with paint or varnish without the use of the ordinary brush, by means of which apparatus the wheels are-immersed in a bath of the coating medium and'then withdrawn and rapidly rotated to spread the coating smoothly and evenly over all parts of the wheel.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of our apparatus. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section of same. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the catch for holding the operating-lever.

' A is a tank or receptacle, preferably of cylindrical shape, supported by legs or standards B B at a convenient height from the floor for the operator. The bottom of the tank is depressed and slopes toward the center for the ready discharge of the paint and also to more readily receive the wheels, which may be considerably dished.

Extending up vertically through the center of the tank is a shaft C, provided with a stuffing-box D, Where it passes into the tank, and

supported in a journal-box E, secured to across-brace F, extending between the legs or standards. This shaft 0 carries a pulley G, keyed thereto, with its hub resting on the journal-box, and by this pulley and the belt H the shaft C can be readily rotated at a very high rate of speed by any suitable power.

The shaft 0 is arranged to be raised or lowered by the lever L, pivoted at any suitable point on the framework, the lower end of the shaft resting on the inner end of this lever. To raise the shaft, the lever is depressed and caught underneath the catch a on one of the standards.

Y The upper portion of the shaft 0, where it extends into the tank A is reduced in diameter to readily receive the huh I) of the wheel M, which is to be painted. ois a cone mounted on and keyed to the spindle of the shaft C to receive and hold the wheel M, and d is a similar cone loosely mounted on the spindle of the shaft C, so as to be readily removed from the shaft. This cone d is removed, the Wheel M placed on the spindle, the cone d replaced and tightly wedged Within the hub of the wheel M by the wedge-shaped key 6, inserted in the slotfat the upper end of the spindle. When this Wedge is driven home, the wheel M is locked securely to the shaft C. The lever L is then released from the catch a,which allows the shaft to drop down, carrying with it the wheel into the body of the paint or varnish, which fills the tank about one-half full. As soon as the wheel has been immersed completelywithin the paint the lever L is dopressed,which raises the shaft C, and with it the wheel, out of the paint. Power is then applied and the shaft C very rapidly rotated by the pulley and belt, and in a very few moments the action of the centrifugal force spreads the coating medium with great evenness and smoothness over every part of the wheel. The key 6 is then knocked out, the cone (1 slipped off the spindle, the wheel M removed, and another wheel takes its place to be similarly treated. A large number of wheels can thus be painted in much less time than in the ordinary method by hand and the coating of paint applied with greater smoothness than when done with the brush. The rotation of the wheel after it is raised up by the shaft from the paint-bath takes place within the walls of the tank, so that all of the paint thrown off runs back into the body of the paint in the tank.

It is frequently desired to heat the priming I material into which the vehicle-wheel is to be immersed, and we therefore surround the lower portion of the tank with a water-jacket N, within which is located a coil of steam-pipe P for heating the water to the temperature desired. R is an outlet-pipe, provided with suitable valve for removing the paint for cleaning out the receptacle or whenever else desired.

Having thus described ourinvention, what same to immerse and withdraw the wheel, we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patand means for rotating said shaft when the ent, is I wheel is withdrawn from the bath, substan- In a wheel-pain ting machine, a tank for the tially as shown and described. reception of the paint-bath, a rotatable and endwise-shiftable shaft projecting upward into the center of said tank, cones on the up- WILLIAM LE HAVVES per end of said shaft, one fixed and the other removable for securing the wheel to be ro- Witnesses: tated thereto, lever bearing against the lower W. S. KYLE, end of said shaft for raising and lowering the ALFRED M. ALLEN. 

